Balaji Sakthivel

Balaji Sakthivel
Balaji Sakthivel at Vaanam Kottatum Audio Launch
Born	Balaji Muralidharan (1964-01-01) 1 January 1964 (age 61) [1] Batlagundu, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation(s)	Writer and director, [2]
Years active	2002–present
Spouse	Kalanithi Balaji
Children	2

Balaji Sakthivel is an Indian actor and director of Tamil films. ^[3] He is best known for directing the 2004 film Kaadhal . ^[4]

Career

Balaji Sakthivel began his off-screen career as an assistant director to S. Shankar. In 2002, he directed his first film, Samurai for Vikram. After a two-year break, he released Kaadhal (2004) under the S Pictures banner, Shankar's production house. In 2007, Kalloori won Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer. His Vazhakku Enn 18/9 (2012) won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.

Balaji Sakthivel made his onscreen debut in Dhanush's Asuran . Even before the release of the film, the director has bagged his next acting role in Mani Ratnam's next production Vaanam Kottatum (2020). He has been roped in to play an important role in the film directed by Dhana. ^[5] He has been signed to play one of the important characters in Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022). ^[6]

Filmography

As director

Year	Film	Notes
2002	Samurai
2004	Kaadhal
2007	Kalloori	Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer
2012	Vazhakku Enn 18/9	National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Director Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil Vijay Award for Best Director
2023	Modern Love Chennai	Web series Episode 2 - "Imaigal" [7]

As an actor

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1995	Chinna Mani	Doctor	Uncredited
2019	Asuran	Inspector
2020	Vaanam Kottatum	Velusaamy Thevar
2022	Mahaan	Soosaiyappan
	Ponniyin Selvan: I	Vanangamudiyar
	Sardar	Chidambaram
	Kaari	Meena's father
2023	Viduthalai Part 1	Advocate
	Ponniyin Selvan: II	Vanangamudiyar
	Good Night	House Owner
	Maaveeran	Chief Minister
	Paramporul	Aadhi's father
2024	Idi Minnal Kadhal	Govindraj
	Nandhan	Koppulingam	[8]
	Sorgavaasal	Bashir
	Viduthalai Part 2	Advocate
2025	Kudumbasthan	Mohan Ram
	Kooran
	DNA	Chinnaswamy
	Paranthu Po	Gokul's father	[9]
	Oho Enthan Baby	Bhojaraj
	Gandhi Kannadi	Gandhi

References

1. "Balaji Sakthivel". TANTIS. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
2. "Director Balaji Sakthivel". 600024. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
3. Aruna V. Iyer (26 June 2012). "Cities / Tiruchirapalli : Director engages in a critical appreciation session of his latest release". The Hindu . Retrieved 17 July 2012.
4. "Profile of Director Balaji Sakthivel - Tamil Movie Data Base of Tamilstar.com". profile.tamilstar.com. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
5. "Balaji Sakthivel in Mani Ratnam's 'Vaanam Kottatum'". The Times of India.
6. "Filmmaker Balaji Sakthivel to be a part of Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan starring Aishwarya Rai". 30 August 2020.
7. Hymavati, Ravali (8 May 2023). "Modern Love Chennai: This Thiagarajan Kumararaja's Web Series Will Premier On Amazon Prime From This Date". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
8. "M Sasikumar's Nandhan To Release On September 20". Times Now . 29 August 2024. Archived from the original on 29 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
9. Kumar, Akshay (23 May 2025). "Aju Varghese makes his Tamil debut with Ram's Paranthu Po". Cinema Express. Retrieved 26 May 2025.

External links

• Balaji Sakthivel at IMDb